Leaving
Kuala Tomani, we hit the dirt road to a timber camp and Sabah Forest
Industry’s (SFI) checkpoint 9. We had seen Hiluxes of people coming out
and therefore were sure that we were on the right track, but that
confidence went
as far as the first fork junction. At a toss of a coin, we headed left
to find that the roads did
not go in the planned direction. We backtrack to SFI checkpoint 16 and
asked the rangers there. There were friendly and helpful and pointed us
in the right direction. It appeared that these kind people are used to
off roaders asking direction.

Senior Mr.
Voon checking his map

Group stops to enjoy the view on
the way

As we entered the
‘correct’ route at the fork junction, the road turned to one befitting
of a safari expedition. I had very much earlier engaged 4x4 as it gave a
smoother ride over the gravel and loose surface. The trail at this juncture
is all hard packed dirt, then the mud holes begin to appear more
frequently as we progressed. The mud got more intense on the hills – both
up and down.

Meeting Labo in
Lawas, before proceeding into Sabah

As we approached Sungei
Telekosong, my engine emitted a loud scratchy noise. We stopped and saw
what looked like oil
dripping from the engine. On opening the bonnet, the whole engine
compartment was splattered black. Closer inspection revealed it was
dirty water. I was a little relieved to know that my engine had not
blown. The noise was caused by the water pump which was leaking and
rotating like a drunk walking in a straight line.

Along
the route, it was bright and sunny and then it rained

All agreed that we
should just top up the water, restart the engine and hopefully with the
rotation, the water would remain in the engine. So we soldiered on and
arrived at Sg.Telekosong. SFI had put up a jungle hut here and this
would be a perfect camping spot on multi-day expeditions, except for the
mosquitoes.

After
lunch and a swim in the cool river, we put more water into the radiator
and continued on. The trail got more technical as we entered deeper into
no man’s land with deeper bogs and longer stretches of mud holes. I was
careful to take the best lines and drove through these obstacles without
dramas. Many parts of the trail was tight nearing ravines with drops going down over
200 meters.

Entertainment for
the folks at Semambu village

We arrived at the
critical check point- Semambu village and drove in to greet the folks
and film the scenic isolated village and quickly continued to our next
waypoint – the village of Rundum.

Labo's
Hilux crosses the landslide

We were grinding over
some deep holes that I heard a different sound and saw that my
temperature gauge showed a higher than normal reading. I pulled over to
the side and with the bonnet still close, I saw that there was no water
dripping out. I felt my ears tingling and the hairs on the back of my
neck stiffening. My worse fears were realised when I opened the bonnet
to see the fan and pulley dislodged, lying at the bottom of the cowling. I waited for the
others to catch up and broke the bad news to them. My options played up
in my head… it were either a rock or a hard place. It was at this point
that it began to rain.